<s>
dcraw	B-Algorithm
is	O
an	O
open-source	B-Application
computer	I-Application
program	I-Application
which	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
read	O
numerous	O
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
format	I-Application
files	O
,	O
typically	O
produced	O
by	O
mid-range	O
and	O
high-end	O
digital	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
dcraw	B-Algorithm
converts	O
these	O
images	O
into	O
the	O
standard	O
TIFF	O
and	O
PPM	O
image	O
formats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
conversion	O
is	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
developing	O
a	O
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
(	O
by	O
analogy	O
with	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
film	O
development	O
)	O
since	O
it	O
renders	O
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
sensor	O
data	O
(	O
a	O
"	O
digital	O
negative	O
"	O
)	O
into	O
a	O
viewable	O
form	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
image	O
processing	O
programs	O
use	O
dcraw	B-Algorithm
internally	O
to	O
enable	O
them	O
to	O
read	O
raw	B-Application
files	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
dcraw	B-Algorithm
began	O
on	O
February	O
23	O
,	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
up	O
to	O
3.15	O
used	O
the	O
name	O
Canon	O
PowerShot	O
Converter	O
,	O
starting	O
with	O
v3.40	O
the	O
name	O
was	O
Raw	B-Application
Photo	O
Decoder	O
,	O
switching	O
to	O
Raw	B-Application
Photo	O
Decoder	O
"	O
dcraw	B-Algorithm
"	O
in	O
v5.70	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
has	O
stalled	O
,	O
with	O
only	O
two	O
releases	O
since	O
May	O
2015	O
and	O
the	O
last	O
release	O
dated	O
June	O
2018	O
,	O
but	O
parts	O
of	O
dcraw	B-Algorithm
are	O
included	O
in	O
LibRaw	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
most	O
camera	O
manufacturers	O
supply	O
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
decoding	O
software	O
for	O
their	O
cameras	O
,	O
this	O
software	O
is	O
almost	O
always	O
proprietary	B-Application
,	O
and	O
often	O
becomes	O
unsupported	O
when	O
a	O
camera	O
model	O
is	O
discontinued	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
file	O
formats	O
themselves	O
are	O
often	O
undocumented	O
,	O
and	O
several	O
manufacturers	O
have	O
gone	O
so	O
far	O
as	O
to	O
encrypt	O
all	O
or	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
in	O
their	O
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
format	I-Application
,	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
prevent	O
third-party	O
software	O
from	O
accessing	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Given	O
this	O
ever-expanding	O
plethora	O
of	O
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
formats	I-Application
,	O
and	O
uncertain	O
and	O
inconsistent	O
support	O
for	O
them	O
by	O
the	O
manufacturers	O
,	O
many	O
photographers	O
worry	O
that	O
their	O
valuable	O
raw	B-Application
images	I-Application
may	O
become	O
unreadable	O
as	O
the	O
applications	O
and	O
operating	O
systems	O
required	O
become	O
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
to	O
proprietary	B-Application
decoding	O
software	O
,	O
dcraw	B-Algorithm
strives	O
for	O
simplicity	O
,	O
portability	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
consistency	O
,	O
as	O
expressed	O
by	O
its	O
author:So	O
here	O
is	O
my	O
mission	O
:	O
Write	O
and	O
maintain	O
an	O
ANSI	O
C	O
program	O
that	O
decodes	O
any	O
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
from	O
any	O
digital	B-Device
camera	I-Device
on	O
any	O
computer	O
running	O
any	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
many	O
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
formats	I-Application
are	O
specific	O
to	O
one	O
make	O
or	O
model	O
of	O
camera	O
,	O
dcraw	B-Algorithm
is	O
frequently	O
updated	O
to	O
support	O
new	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
many	O
proprietary	B-Application
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
formats	I-Application
,	O
dcraw	B-Algorithm
's	O
source	O
code	O
(	O
based	O
largely	O
on	O
reverse-engineering	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
bestor	O
onlypublicly	O
available	O
documentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dcraw	B-Algorithm
currently	O
supports	O
the	O
raw	B-Application
formats	I-Application
of	O
several	O
hundred	O
cameras	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dcraw	B-Algorithm
is	O
built	O
around	O
the	B-Operating_System
Unix	I-Operating_System
philosophy	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
is	O
a	O
command	O
line	O
tool	O
which	O
takes	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
raw	B-Application
image	I-Application
files	I-Application
to	O
process	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
any	O
image	O
adjustment	O
options	O
desired	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dcraw	B-Algorithm
also	O
serves	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
various	O
high-level	O
raw	O
image-processing	O
applications	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
viewers	O
and	O
converters	O
)	O
,	O
both	O
free	B-Application
and	I-Application
open	I-Application
source	I-Application
software	I-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
proprietary	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
GUI	B-Application
front-ends	B-Architecture
for	O
dcraw	B-Algorithm
are	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
applications	O
use	O
dcraw	B-Algorithm
as	O
a	O
back-end	B-Architecture
to	O
do	O
the	O
actual	O
processing	O
of	O
raw	B-Application
images	I-Application
,	O
but	O
present	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
interface	I-Application
with	O
which	O
the	O
image	O
processing	O
options	O
can	O
be	O
adjusted	O
.	O
</s>
